Illuminated
by IronIsraeliButterfly
Summary: Gibbs and Ziva find illumination on a rainy day from two very different sources. A spin off on "Classically" my long one-shot for Ziva's backstory. Will they manage to admit what they have been hiding each individually for all these years?
1. Chapter 1

Title: Illuminated

Author: IronIsraeliButterfly

Chapter One: Illumination

_A/N: I wrote this chapter in Hebrew and then translated it on a plane to Rome where they had messed up my reservations and I got stuck in __**economy class **__between a portly businessman who snores like a drunken sailor with emphysema (points if you know where that is from) and a German teenager (Ishty, I have nothing against Germans) who could not stop looking over her shoulder . Sorry for the poor quality. I hope you enjoy… Every chapter will start with a song, so if you have any suggestions, please tell me. _

"_Suddenly my eyes are open_

_Everything comes into focus_

_We are all illuminated_

_Lights are shining on our faces_

_Time waits for no one_

_So do you waste some time tonight?_

_Don't be afraid of tomorrow_

_Just take my hand_

_I'll make it feel so much better tonight"_

_-"Illuminated"_

Ziva and McGee were standing in Barnes and Noble, waiting for the rain to abate. They had been taking a walk that afternoon to their favourite coffee shop when the beautiful day had ceased to be and they were stuck in a deluge. Noticing one of their favourite escapes, they had run into the bookstore. They sat down at the small coffee nook, hidden behind the self-help and manga books. On its back wall was a shelf with the top twenty New York Times Bestsellers. McGee's newest book was ensconced in the second place. A feat, Ziva had said, for the book had only now dropped to number two after three weeks, and he had been replaced by a cheap Stephen King thriller.

"America," Ziva has said indignantly when she had seen the cheap Lucite shelf adorned with a cover of a man looking into a rear view window with a trail of blood behind him, the typical thriller cover, "is being filled with landfills of pulp fiction."

"And what I write isn't pulp fiction?" McGee had asked her, laughingly.

"No," Ziva said, her eyes full of admiration mixed with incredulation, "what you write is like Faulkner. You are the last good American writer, Tim."

Sundays were the day that they got to be together, away from the prying eyes of the team. There was no Gibbs to answer to, no Tony to be aggravated by, none of Ducky's history lessons and useless trivia and none of Abby's barely English pronouncements. There was only she and him, enjoying things that were indigenous to them; more _cultural_ things than, for instance, Tony's endless movie quotes and references. They sometimes took the drive up to New York for theatre, and sometimes just perused the shelves, looking for little-known authors to delight in. They enjoyed working their way through the labyrinth of the Farmer's Market ad cooking exotic creations. They were, in the end, the best of friends.

So as they were sitting at a quiet table, close to the rain-streaked window, McGee had something nagging at him. They were friends, were they not? So why shouldn't he tell Ziva what he felt must be said?

"Something distracting you?" Ziva asked, as she took a sip of her mocha latte.

He sighed. "Not distracting me, just something I wanted to discuss with you."

Ziva smiled. "You make it sound like a business deal, Tim." _Tim._ She only called him that when they were outside of the office, when she felt comfortable. Comfort was something Ziva felt little of, McGee knew, and he indulged himself thinking that Ziva felt comfort when she was with him.

"Ziva, what's your relationship with Gibbs?" he blurted out. He didn't mean to put it so badly, but as his mother had said many a time before, "before you say what is in your brain, the words all your own. When you say them, they belong to everyone but you."

Ziva considered him as she sipped her latte. The pause was pregnant with tension, so thick McGee could take the proverbial knife and cut through it.

"My relationship with Gibbs…" she said slowly, choosing her words carefully, "is one of respect. I respect him, and I believe he respects me. Why, Tim, do you think there is anything else that could be going on? Something that I have not noticed?"

The rain began to hit against the window even harder. It appeared they would have to brave the storm because it was not planning on abating any time soon. "No," McGee said after a long pause, "just wondering."

Ziva tried to get more comfortable on her couch as she pulled the expensive throw around her. She had popped in one of her favourite movies that she had brought with her from Israel, a comedy, and tried to watch, but was bothered by what McGee had said.

What _was_ her relationship with Gibbs? Was it one of just mutual respect, a passion for a common cause or was it something more? Ziva laughed ruefully at the thought. _Stupid Ziva. Of course there isn't something else. Gibbs is Gibbs. He doesn't have feelings for me, especially since I'm his co-worker and there are rules in place against this._

But the image of Gibbs swam, unbidden, to the front of her mind, the older, handsome agent staring her down when she made a particularly dumb mistake the week before. He seemed to be annoyed, but now that she contemplated the look on his face, she realized there was something more. Her heart beat a little faster… _could it be? _

Ziva got up and threw the curtains shut definitively, sick of the rain. Israel barely had rain. It bothered her when she so much rain. It reminded her of what she had left behind, who she had left behind.

And then it hit her full force, blinding. She staggered a little bit from the intensity of the realization. She was in love with her boss.

Gibbs looked at the back of his boat. With the amount of rain outside, he could probably sail it outside down to Mexico. But every boat had a name. There was a feeling that he had the name in his mind, but he couldn't recall it. It was just out of his reach, like an elusive deer. Something that had to do with light, sources of the inspiration.

He said there with the stencils. He had a _Kelly_, a _Shannon_, a _Diane _(which he had burned) and a _Meredith_ (his mother). He wished he was so desperately in love with someone that he would name one of his wooden masterpieces for. He looked heavenward.

"Shan, it's been twenty years. You've got a great vantage point up there. You've been watching people for twenty years. Can you send me someone who will last? Someone with your courage, someone… like you. Is that too much to ask?"

A feeling stole over him, like she was holding his shoulder. He turned around, and he could almost see her there, with that beautiful smile, her red hair over her shoulders. "What you're looking for is right in front of you, Jethro. It's not the boat. Open your eyes, Jethro."

And she was gone. But the name hit him. He wasn't ready to paint it on yet, he wasn't ready to act on his feelings. Like fine wine, one had to let it sit until it was ready, cracked open at the perfect second. Ziva…


	2. Beauty of a Night

**Title:** Illuminated

**Author:** IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title:** Beauty of a Night

_**A/N:**__ Thank you Zivacentric for defining what a "plot bunny" is for me… now could someone explain what AU is? Hope you like the next (small) instalment of "Illuminated." Again, this story is completely written in Hebrew and then translated, so there are places where the translation gets a bit sticky. I am also working on my contractions, so if there's such a thing as FanFiction points, I get one for every contraction._

"_Oh this is the night, _

_It's a beautiful night_

_And we call it bella notte. _

_Look at the skies,_

_They have stars in their eyes_

_On this lovely bella notte._

_Side by side with your loved one_

_You'll find enchantment here._

_The night will weave its magic spell_

_When the one you love is near"_

_ -"Bella Notte"_

"Gibbs?" Ziva asked, looking up from her computer. It was the day after her big realization, and she felt that she was treading on unsteady ground.

"Hm?" he asked, not looking up from the newspaper.

"Abby wrote me an e-mail to remind you that today is Ducky's birthday and that she made reservations at Primavera at seven-thirty." Ziva looked at him, wondering what he would say. "She wants to know if you —"

"Yeah, I'm coming, Dah-veed," he said, tense because he was trying not to slip up and make a mistake. He looked at her, her lips pursed in concentration as she typed her response to Abby. Did Ziva know, he asked himself? He had decided late last night he would not make any move because it could result in disaster. She could be with anyone she wanted – she was the most beautiful woman he had ever met, and one of the most inspiring. Her beauty was evident — when she walked across the street, cars honked, and not all of them men. Yet Ziva had managed to stay single for so many years… or so he thought. He also didn't know if she was dating anyone, so that was another crease that needed to be ironed out.

"Abby just sent me another e-mail asking if you will let us out early so we can take showers and change," Ziva read from her computer.

"If there's no case," Gibbs answered, trying not to look at his attractive female co-worker. He feared that if he looked at her too much, he wouldn't be able to stand it anymore and then the dam would break. Hence, he decided to guard his eyes from… straying.

When five-thirty neared, there were no cases that had come in to the tip-line. Gibbs shooed them away. Ziva stood up, and looked at Gibbs, wanting to say something, but then shook her head and exited towards to the lift, and he watched her dark hair dancing behind her and then her face, buried in her phone, as the doors to the lift closed.

When Gibbs walked into the restaurant, he scanned the upscale eatery for the group that was close to his heart. The maître d'hôtel looked at the man in the expensive suit (dug up from the back of his closet and hastily ironed) and a poorly wrapped gift, with a lopsided ribbon attached. "Name?" the maître d'hôtel asked curtly.

"Jethro Gibbs for the Mallard party," he said, trying to be as proper as possible.

The suit led him to a table on the waterfront, facing the Washington monument. There was Ducky, looking dapper as ever, with a tie and a nice suit, Abby wearing her Marilyn Monroe dress that had shocked the team several Halloweens ago, Palmer, Tony and McGee both wearing suits (McGee's decidedly nicest, and much more expensive), and then… Ziva. His heart dropped when he saw her. She was wearing a simple plum halter-top dress, her hair blown dry and pinned to one side, and a dollop of makeup, sipping a glass of white wine. She was clearly the most beautiful woman there, and was attracting a lot of attention, which she was blissfully unaware of. He watched her from afar, her throwing back her head and laughing. There was a beautifully wrapped gift underneath her chair, which made him look disdainfully as his gift, wrapped in garish greens and blues. He was mesmerized by her beauty and entranced by her laugh. Slowly, he bided himself to approach the table, and had to force himself from not placing a kiss against her beautiful forehead. Of course the only place that was left for him was the spot between Abby and Ziva, and Tony was next to Ziva, so Gibbs couldn't even slap him when he felt nervous or on-edge.

She didn't seem to pay much attention to him, except when he said something, which was rare. However, he could not stop looking at the beautiful woman at his right. Even when she ate, he was entranced. He just wanted to scoop her up in his arms and never let her go. Even what she said as fascinating, sophisticated, brilliant. He found out that she often attended the opera or art museums with Ducky, suffered Abby's concerts and went to the spa with her, and spent most weekends with McGee.

When the chocolate gâ·teaux, reached the table, Ziva pulled out the gift from underneath her chair. "This is from Tim and I," she said, handing the parcel to Ducky. Gibbs heart sank.

He read the card silently, and then broke out into a smile, which was the exact opposite of Gibbs' mood. She was dating _McGee?_ Why was she with McGee?

"No, we are _not_ together," Ziva said, looking at Tony, with a glare, unaware that she was reassuring Gibbs's bruised ego. Ducky opened the gift carefully, revealing a beautiful, leather-bound book from the Smithsonian. He seemed incredulous that Ziva and McGee had spent so much money on him.

Slowly, dinner wrapped up, and Gibbs still felt that his heart was in his throat. Gone was his resolve to keep silent; the resolve had lasted for less than a mere day. Ziva gave Ducky a peck on the cheek, wished him happy birthday, and exited, saying how she wondered she would wake up in time for work. Gibbs watched the figure of the woman leave the restaurant, her black stilettos click-clacking a pattern across the parquet floor.

When Gibbs left the restaurant several minutes later, he was surprised to see Ziva standing next to her Mini Cooper, waiting impatiently. "Oh, hello, Gibbs," she said breezily, waving him over. "Someone slashed through my tires and I called triple-A. They told me they'll be here in fifteen minutes."

"I'll wait with you," Gibbs muttered.

"Oh, no, its fine."

"I… I want to wait with you," Gibbs said, looking at the younger woman, surprise registered across her beautiful face, as if a master craftsmen had fashioned it from the finest marble.

"Thanks," Ziva said, a smile breaking out across her face. "I appreciate it."

"Anything for you," he said, watching her shivering shoulders. He pulled his suit jacket off and slung it around her shoulders. She turned her face to him, and murmured her gratitude.

"Let's wait inside my car," Gibbs said, tugging her hand. She looked at him oddly, and he hastily retrieved his hand.

"No… it's okay, Jethro," she said, following him to his car, which was parked right across from hers. "I wanted to talk to you anyway."

His heart started a mini-marching band. What would Ziva want to tell him? Could it possibly be what he was aching to tell her, the realization he had only come to the previous night? He looked up at the sky, a wide expanse of black velvet with tiny rhinestones as stars bedazzling the sky.

"Me first." he said, so nervous, nearly about to start wringing his hands.

Ziva looked at him expectantly, and since he had no speech prepared, it took him several seconds to gather his thoughts. "Yesterday, I was working on my boat, and I… I was thinking. I was thinking about you. I realized that my life… isn't complete without you. I know you probably don't feel that way about me… being twenty-years older than you, and… but I wanted to tell you I want to be with you."

Ziva turned her face up to him with a slight smile. "Who says I don't feel the same way?" he looked at her, wondering if she had really said that. She brought herself closer to him, and his left arm made his way around his waist, his right hand to cup her face, and before he captured his lips with hers, he whispered, "are you sure?"

"Yes," she whispered back, kissing him, and he returned it, deepening the kiss.

When the triple-A guy came about ten minutes later, all he saw was a red Mini-Cooper sagging in the front, an older man snogging a beautiful woman in a purple dress wearing the older man's suit jacket, and the beautiful sky reflecting off of them.

"_Oh this is the night _

_And the heavens are right_

_On this lovely bella notte_

_Oh this is the night_

_It's a beautiful night_

_And they call it bella notte_

_Look at the skies_

_They have stars in their eyes_

_On this lovely bella notte_

_Side by side with your loved one_

_You'll find enchantment here_

_The night will weave its magic spell_

_When the one you love is near."_


	3. Near to You, part One

**Title:** Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title:** Near to You, pt. 1

**A/N: **There's a lot of McGee-Ziva, not so much Gibbs. However, it is _not_ McGiva, it is purely their friendship and helping along the relationship between Ziva and Gibbs. Also, the words of the songs are interspersed along the chapter, not necessarily in order, because I feel this really summarizes and encapsulates the Ziva-Gibbs relationship.

"_Near to you, I am healin'  
>But it's takin' so long<br>Cause though he's gone and you are wonderful  
>It's hard to move on<br>Yeah, I'm better near to you  
>Yeah, I'm better near to you"<em>

_-"Near to You"_

Ziva refilled Gibbs' coffee cup and placed it on the table before pouring one for herself and sat down.

"Thanks," he said, watching her carefully. She took the paper from underneath his hand and scanned the headlines, and then pushed the paper back to him. "Is anything wrong? Did something happen when I was in the shower?" her eyes were filled with worry, as if the something terribly wrong had occurred.

"Vance called."

Ziva sighed. It had been six months since Ziva and Gibbs had gotten together, and four months since Ziva had moved into his house. They had settled into a blessed routine, sharing toothpaste and making dinner together. They drank the same coffee and read the paper together. She took a run every morning and then woke him up after she had brewed the coffee and he made their lunches while she was in the shower. It was wonderfully normal. Yet Vance's call would shatter the wonder that was occurring, for at least a little time.

"What did he want to say?" Ziva asked, sipping her coffee.

"I'm going out of the country for a couple days with DiNozzo."

"Where are you going?" Ziva enquired, her interest piqued. The last time she had been out of the country, she had gone with Tony to Paris. She squirmed at the memory of having to share a hotel room with him, even if she had taken the couch.

"Saudi Arabia."

Ziva's face darkened. "Why are you going and not me? I speak Arabic and–"

"Vance said no. he said it's too dangerous for you."

"I have been to Saudi Arabia before, Jethro."

He gave her a long, hard, searching look. "Yes, but there was a reason for it. Ziver, it's too dangerous, and I don't want you getting hurt. He got up and put his arms around her, for she was now standing next to the coffee pot, refilling her mug. At least she did not spurn his advances. "Honey," he whispered into her hair, loving the smell of her, "you're not getting hurt, not on my watch. Besides, I need you to keep an eye on Abby and McGee." Ziva snorted. He decided to go on, "Ziver, I want you to be safe. I'll never be able to forgive myself if anything happened to you, and I _know_ you can take care of yourself perfectly well, but… I won't be able to handle it if something happens to you." He rocked her back and forth before he could hear her murmur softly:

"And what will happen to _me_ if something happens to _you_?" her tone then changed to angry as she pulled herself out of his arms and began chopping tomatoes, her knife a blur above the cupboard. Knife work always made her feel better, in a savage sort of way. "Why does Vance have to send _you_, anyway? Why is it always our team that gets stuck doing the dangerous work? Rainworth's team always gets the open and shut cases, Collins's team never leaves the office, and we're stuck running around after dangerous criminals! Why can't Vance send _them_ for a change?" She stabbed the tomato, juice oozing out all over the cutting board. She glared at it.

He put his arms around his waist again and tried to comfort her, but she did not seem satisfied. "I have to call DiNozzo, honey." He kissed the top of her forehead and walked out of the kitchen. She could hear his curt words into the telephone and then his heavy footfalls and came back into the kitchen.

"We're just going to pick up the body, Ziva, we'll be back very soon." He tried to reassure her, realizing her anger came not from her exclusion, but the worry that there was a chance that Gibbs might not come back. He pulled her to him, and he could taste the coffee on her lips as he kissed her. "Ziver, I love you."

Ziva murmured her love to him, and when she looked up, her eyes full of unshed tears. One came rippling down her cheek, and he kissed it tenderly away.

Ziva and McGee sat down in the break room when he passed her the smoothie he had purchased, which he knew he liked. He opened his can of diet Cherry-Vanilla soda and opened the Scrabble board. As Ziva rummaged in the red velvet bag for the letters, he could tell that she was preoccupied. McGee alone knew of the relationship between Ziva and Gibbs, and he had kept it shut… of course, he had shared it with the entire world, in the form of Officer Lisa and Agent Tibbs – but the new novel was not due out for several months. McGee could read Ziva like an open book; he knew what she was thinking.

"He'll be fine, Ziva," he said, taking the bag from her and taking out his letters. _Damn, _he thought, _a q. How the hell am I going to use that?_

McGee knew her a lot better than the rest of the team, probably because he was non-judgemental. He was a writer, which meant he pondered people, their descions, what made them angry and what made them go possessive. McGee knew that life was rarely black-and-white, and that was what Ziva had seen in McGee — a friend who didn't just see the sexy woman, the brilliant assassin or the reputable criminal investigator – he saw Ziva, the strengths and the weaknesses. He had been able to understand her when they discussed fathers, and he was the one who knew when she was lonely or being pushed over the edge by Tony. It was the mark of their friendship that even though Ziva was living with Gibbs, becoming his partner in everything, Ziva and McGee were still engaged in a blossoming relationship outside of the office.

"_Such pain as this  
>Shouldn't have to be experienced<br>I'm still reeling from the loss  
>Still a little bit delirious, yeah"<em>

"Ziva," McGee began, "have you told him about… about you-know-what?"

Ziva pursed her lips and shook her head, indicating that she had not discussed the matter with Gibbs, whatever it may be.

"If you don't tell him… well, that's why his other three marriages failed…"

"We're not getting married, Tim, at least not yet, and _I know…_ I just don't know when to tell him. Can we start out game and talk about something else?"

_Chapter to be continued… what is Ziva hiding?_


	4. Crying

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Crying for You

**A/N: **This is for Clairebear who just couldn't wait for another chapter, and all those wonderful people who reviewed. And yes, "Raining" and "The Gibbses, Version 4.0" are being worked off. This chapter gets very… intense. More dialogue than usual. **Rated M for language.**

"_This time was different_

_Felt like I was just a victim_

_And it cut me like a knife_

_When you walked out of my life_

_Now I am in this condition and _

_I got all the symptoms_

_Of a girl with a broken heart_

_But no matter you'll never see me cry."_

_-"Cry"_

Ziva needed ibuprofen desperately. She rummaged inside her desk drawer, and put her hand on the white plastic cylinder that contained the relief and shook two small tablets into her cupped hand and threw them into her mouth. It was something she had learned in a trench in the army — she had had a terrible splitting headache and she no more water in her canteen. In between refilling her magazine, she would down the little white tablets that promised redemption from the pain.

McGee had wired her computer that she would be able to track Gibbs's returning plane, mile for mile. As she stared at the varying shades of black and the tiny black dot, the past couple days came back at her with a force. Managing the office was not easy. At least Tony wasn't there; he would have annoyed the hell out of her. She sat part of the day in MTAC conferring over the phone with Gibbs, spitting word by word in Arabic to explain to local authorities.Vance was annoyed, she could tell. She had watched him pulverize toothpick after toothpick in MTAC as he struggled to keep his cool. He didn't need a cadaver in Riyadh to mess up relations between Saudi Arabia and the United States. He had half a mind just to make it a suicide so as not to screw up the already delicate communication between the two nations. Vance was also second-guessing himself, sending Gibbs and DiNozzo, who were the not the agency's crème-de-la-crème of diplomats.

McGee came out of the lift, clutching two sodas and a bag. He delved inside the bag and produced a hamburger and slid it across her desk, adding the soda.

She looked up and smiled. "Thanks, McGee."

He bent over her desk. "Ziva, are you going to tell him?"

"I don't…"

"Dammit, Ziva!" He struck her desk with his fist. "You have to tell him!" Ziva had never seen McGee so angry. He actually resembled Gibbs when he was angry. "You walked into this relationship realizing that if it soured then we, as a team, would have to split up!"

"Why are you saying that the relationship is going to end?" Ziva stood up, anger blazing in her brown eyes and she met McGee's emeralds.

"Because if you don't tell him…"

"I'll tell him, McGee. In fact, I'll tell him right now. Oh, right, he's on a trans-Atlantic flight back from Saudi Arabia after being there for four days. And I don't need you, Timothy McGee, to tell me how to run my love life considering that yours is _absolutely zero!"_

Abby stood in the hallway, listening. She couldn't believe what she was hearing; McGee and Ziva, who were best friends, were arguing. Maybe there was more to their friendship? Abby listened harder. Their words were growing sharper.

Or maybe Ziva was in a relationship with Tony. That would be nice, Abby mused. But then the reality hit her like a ton of bricks. For the past six months, Gibbs had been looking happier. He had smiled more, he had laughed more. Abby had surmised that Gibbs had fallen in love with someone again, and she had asked her nuns to pray that it would be a lasting relationship. Gibbs needed that happiness desperately, more than anyone she knew.

And he had found that happiness in Ziva.

The same woman Tony was helplessly in love with.

Rage broke forth as Abby raced into the bullpen.

"You self-serving, ravenous, insatiable SLUT!" Abby punched Ziva in the face.

McGee gasped. "No, no, Abby, you mustn't fight! You misunderstood!" Why did he always have to be there when the two fought?

"I don't think _you _know what you're talking about, McGee," Abby said, glaring at him. "Ziva just _jumped _into his bed, thought she could _scam_ someone else for information, she's using Gibbs. It wasn't enough that you all saved her from Somalia… no, that was part of the plan, wasn't it, _Officer Dav-eed?_ Get us to trust you, get to be an NCIS agent, Mossad gets all their intel from inside. But it wasn't going fast enough, so she tempts Gibbs into bed and he spills everything. Well, I got something to tell you, you BITCH, that Gibbs deserves all the happiness in the world and you're hurting him. And anyone who messes with Gibbs has to deal with _me,_ Abigail Scuito, forensic scientist extraordinaire. I can kill anyone without leaving any forensic evidence."

"Which I think is hardly necessary, Abby," Ducky said, strolling in.

"Ducky — she betrayed us!"

"I heard everything you said, Abigail, and I think you need to draw on your considerable capacity of brainpower and think if what you have just spouted from your mouth makes any logical sense. Do you think that Ziva is really capable of conning Gibbs into such a scheme?" Ziva shot Ducky a grateful look.

"Abby—"

"Don't talk to me you conniving, vicious, vile… _whore!"_

"Abby!" McGee and Ducky gasped.

"I wish Kate was here. I wish Ari killed _you_!" Ziva's mouth dropped open. "Oh, that was part of your plan too? I HATE YOU, ZIVA DAVID!"

Ziva began breathing hard, but maintained her composure. She looked around the office and saw the faces of Ducky and McGee, shocked and silent. "I see. Abby, I'll leave on the next flight back to Israel." She went into her drawer and pulled out her Sig and badge and placed them on her desk. She pulled out her various personal effects and placed them in her bag, grabbed her coat, and exited the bullpen.

When Ziva got to Gibbs's home to pick up her few belongings, there was a light on. She lifted her spare gun and opened the door, which was unlocked. Gibbs was sitting on the sofa. Ziva walked straight past him.

She could hear the sofa creak when he stood up. _Stupid sofa,_ she cursed it. _Gibbs couldn't even fix that. _She had hated it… one more thing that she wasn't going to miss.

"Honey, what's wrong?" he appeared in the doorway. She pulled a suitcase out of the closet and started dumping her clothes in it.

"You're not… leaving, are you?" he asked, the words stuck in his throat. It couldn't be. The woman who he truly loved, the woman he trusted was leaving him. "Honey, we can work this out…"

Ziva got up and started pulling things from the next drawer and placing them in the second suitcase. "Don't make this harder than its going to be." She crossed to the closet and pulled out her clothes, throwing them and gathering the shoes.

"But, Ziver, we can at least talk about this, can't we?" he pleaded. She wasn't leaving. It couldn't be. She crossed to her lock box and pulled out her documents and deposited them into her bag.

"No, Jethro, we're not. I'm leaving. I'm going back to Mossad. I'm going back to where I belong. NCIS was a mistake."

He sat down on the bed and breathed heavily. "Was I a mistake?" he asked, watching her. She zipped her bags and rolled them to the door, and turned around to him, her eyes full of tears.

"No… no…" he raced after her, "Ziva, no, don't go…" but the rain pounded out his screams into the black night, echoing the despair he felt inside.

When Gibbs entered the bullpen the next morning, he lingered for a while at Ziva's former desk. He opened the drawers, hoping to find some leftover personal item… but all he found was two pencils, a pen, and a highlighter. All he had left from her was the badge and Sig she had once used, and her photo ID. He had her ID in his interior jacket pocket, as some sort of memento, like some proof that she had actually existed and not just walked through his life.

Abby scrutinized him like he was sickening from some rare illness when he walked into her lab that morning. He was expecting her to be upset that her friend, had left. Rather, she had seemed on edge and a bit angry, and even though she didn't mention the absent Israeli, it felt like Ziva was the source of Abby's anger.

Ziva landed in Ben Gurion Airport, the scorching Israeli summer reaching inside the state of the art terminal via the skylights. Malachi Ben-Gidion was standing there, looking handsome as ever in his neat dress shirt and slacks, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his toned arms. He enfolded her into a loving embrace. They had been together for a very long time, serving in the army and then he being her CO. Now, once again, they were together again.

He saddled her backpack and took her suitcases onto a cart and led her out into the brilliant Israeli sunshine, talking to her about what life had been like since she had left. And now she had returned, to re-join what the struggle truly was.

Eli David leaned back into his chair and surveyed his daughter thoughtfully. "But there is no truth in what Miss Scuito said, Ziva, so why did you take offense?"

"I cannot work in such an office where I am not trusted one hundred percent."

"The feeling of mutual cause and trust, I believe, is unique to Mossad. I can re-instate you under Malachi. He has been missing you, Ziva. Liat is not as good as you, I am afraid. But as a father, I might be prejudiced. I insist that you call Leon though and tell him you bear him and his agency no ill will." Ziva nodded.

"And Ziva?"

"Ken, Abba?"

"It is good to have you back."

Gibbs looked at the framed picture on his end table of him and Ziva on a beach, both smiling at the camera. She was gone, and she wasn't coming back. An intense sort of melancholy settled inside of him.

In the past few days, he had learned what had transpired in the office that had made Ziva decide to leave. He had no idea what to say to Abby. He had tried to call Ziva several times, but there had been no answer. Abby had pleaded with him to try and make things better.

He sat at his desk and opened the blue velvet box and stared at the ring inside. A ring he would never be able to give her. He would never be able to tell her how it would be. He never was able to tell her how much he loved her.

"How about this, Ziva," Vance said, pushing aside his toothpick. "I'm going to count this as personal leave and your desk is open for the next year. Just call before coming. Okay? Okay. Send my regards to your father."

Vance set down the telephone.

"Gibbs… you need to go to Israel and get her back. I don't care what you do, but we need Ziva in this agency. And I suspect that you have… uh, personal motivations. You have until this date of next year to get Ziva back. Do you hear me? One year."

Gibbs nodded. "Will that be all?"

Vance sighed. "You're our one chance, Gibbs. I trust that the second b in your name will become less pronounced."

And Gibbs smirked.


	5. Saying Goodbye to Hello

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Saying Goodbye to Hello

**A/N:** Hey everyone! Thanks for the reviews… I know the chapter was a _bit_ dramatic and an unexpected twist. I'm having a hard time with the page breaks… I'll be working on it. And yes, "Raining" is being worked on. And I am accepting requests for songs… Also, I am very aware that Ziva was 25 when she first joined NCIS.

"_Hey there stranger, how you been  
>Feels like I'm standing on the outside looking in<br>At the mess we left behind  
>And it's a long way to fall<br>I gave you everything I had  
>I gave it all<br>And then my heart was on the line"_

_ -"Say Hello to Goodbye," Shontelle_

Gibbs stood in the "Foreign" line in Ben Gurion, edging forward to get his passport stamped. He watched the scene in front of him. Mothers with kerchiefs and wigs clutched screaming babies while husbands in dark jackets and hats tried to track down the older ones. There were several baseball-capped tourists with cameras hung around their necks, as if there was something to take a picture of in the passport lane. Some Israelis were congregated in the "Nationals" line, more prepared for the Israeli _chamtzin_. They were wearing t-shirts and shorts, holding backpacks.

It had been five months without Ziva. Five months. The office was strangely quieter and less enjoyable. Gibbs spent more hours at the office to stave off his return to home, the eerie silence. He had gotten so used to it, the wonderful cheer in the house, the laughter and the dinners. He had fallen into a depression of sorts, barely working on his boat.

He had been sitting on an airplane for about twelve hours, worrying about what he had left and what he was about to go do. He had left the office in charge of DiNozzo, but had told McGee to "keep an eye on him." Gibbs had no idea how long it was going to be in Israel. He had packed for the heat and the cold, but he was rather sure that there was going to be more of the former.

He felt like a stranger. Even though the signs were printed in English and in Hebrew, he still felt out of his element. Here his legal authority carried no import. Now he was just a tourist. The only weapon on him was the training he learned in the Corps and his tongue, which was a weapon to be reckoned with.

Malachi Ben-Gidion was supposed to be meeting him in the arrivals terminal. Eli David had contacted Gibbs earlier the week before. "Jethro, chaver sheli," Eli had said. "I need you to come to Israel to talk to Ziva."

"What's wrong?" Gibbs had asked, his heart jumping into his throat.

"Nothing on the surface, but below the surface, I believe Ziva has been sad and missing all of you. She trusts you, I believe. Ziva is still fully functioning and she is better than ever, which I believe is your doing. She used to be a mediocre officer, I'll have you know, but the Prime Minister told me just last week that he is thinking of replacing me with Ziva." Eli chuckled. "It is the dream of every father that their child will surpass them. Anyway, Jethro, I will purchase you a ticket – first class – and maybe you can talk to Ziva. Do you think Miss Scuito really meant what she said?"

Gibbs sighed. "Director, I work –"

"And I understood you were involved with my daughter. What kind of man are you if you do not come and extradite her from her sadness? I spoke to Leon. He said you can take as long as you want. Besides, Jethro, from our records, you have only been to Israel once, and we know what that had involved. I will arrange that you will tour Israel. There is much to see, from every standpoint. I imagine you will enjoy yourself. Nu, come, Jethro, one cannot work their entire life."

And so Gibbs had agreed to come. He had desperately wanted to see Ziva, but he didn't know if he could manage to see her without bringing her back.

"_I can't hate you  
>Any longer<br>I know I'm going to miss you  
>I'll forget it and let it go."<em>

Malachi flashed his Mossad identification at the armed guard, who waved him through. Malachi pulled the Opel into the carpark and stepped out into the Israeli heat. Even though it was technically winter, the weather was thirty-two degrees Celsius. Great welcome for an American who wore a coat from the beginning of September and possibly to end of May.

When he entered the arrivals terminal, he looked for the silver haired man. Malachi was rather excited to see Gibbs. He hoped that the American would be able to release Ziva from her torment. Malachi had once hoped Ziva and he would end up together, but it was apparent that her heart was connected to Gibbs's. The wonderful part of working in Mossad is that most everyone could talk to the director to discuss problems in the workplace that the director could solve. After several months of working with Ziva, Malachi became sure that something was terribly, terribly wrong. He approached Eli about the problem, and to his surprise, Eli had already known about it.

Ziva had seemed upset and more dedicated to her job than ever. Malachi knew about her horrible past and her heartbreak. He couldn't imagine that what had happened in NCIS could have possibly jarred her than what had happened previously, eight years before. She tried so hard to being happy and pleasant, but it wasn't her. It hadn't been her since the bombing.

Malachi had tried to rehabilitate her himself. He had taken her North, to his family, who made barbeques constantly and watched every football game in front of his brother's massive flat screen TV. Being with normal people eased Ziva's tension slightly. His mother loved her, kept pressuring Malachi to formally ask her out. But Malachi knew he would never cross that line. She was another man's property, even if she denied it. She was Gibbs's, and Malachi wasn't going to steal another man's woman for his personal pleasure and satisfaction.

Ziva had tried to put America out of her head, but that was really difficult for her. Malachi understood. Six years in the companionship of friends, people she trusted. It would have been difficult even if she had known it was coming for a long time, but she had left so suddenly. Malachi had spoken to Michael Bashan to get more the picture, but Michael was barely able to give him part of the picture. Malachi watched her go through what she had gone through eight years before, when she had held a gun to her head and said life was not worth living anymore. Malachi had pried the gun away from her and begged her not to take her life. He had told Eli who had given them both a cruise to Greece to calm Ziva down. But Ziva couldn't manage to take her mind off the loss she had sustained. When Malachi had heard through the Israeli grapevine that Ziva and Gibbs were involved together, Malachi had been thrilled. Perhaps that would rehabilitate her, not completely, but mostly so that she would manage not to see the demons of her past.

It all rested on Gibbs's shoulders. In officer training's course in the army, he had studied psychology to make him more relatable to the people he worked with. And Malachi knew that Gibbs had better have pretty large shoulders.

"_And I'll get by without you  
>I'm not going back again<br>I'm not going to lie to you  
>Cause, that was there and only then."<em>

"Shalom, achi," Malachi said, slapping Gibbs on the back and shouldering his backpack. "Tell me, chaver sheli, how was your flight?"

"First class seat. Long flight. Nice flight attendants."

Malachi laughed. "Nice? All the flight personnel are government employees."

"Smart," Gibbs said, "the TSA would reduce risk if we did that."

"Ziva does not know you are coming, only Eli and I do. Tomorrow you are going to meet her."

"You make it sound like we're planning an op."

"It possibly is, Gibbs. Now, you need coffee from what I understand." Malachi went over to a coffee bar and pushed several coins across. "Hachi chazak syachol leheot," Malachi commanded the barista, who passed over the coffee to Malachi, who handed it to Gibbs, who nodded.

"_And even though the tears will dry  
>I can't completely disconnect<br>Couldn't make the compromise  
>Didn't have a safety net"<em>

When Gibbs entered the café in the new mall near the Jaffa gate, he experienced a sense of nervousness. He straightened his sunglasses (he had asked Tony about clothes right before he left and bought a pair of Ray-Ban aviators, a Brooks Brothers button down with the sleeves that rolled up above the elbow, a pair of high-end jeans and expensive Italian shoes.) He tried to stroll self-confidently and sat down and perused a menu. He looked like a typical Israeli enjoying the sunshine at lunchtime, and his handsome profile was attracting some attention. He watched the entry way... several soldiers were walking around, rifles and guns strapped all over them. And then, he saw a group of three people walking into the outdoor eating area: Malachi, Ziva, and another man. Gibbs's heart jumped a beat. Ziva scanned the restaurant, just like every Israeli did before entering a public area. Her eyes settled on Gibbs, but then shook her head as if telling herself that she was seeing something that shouldn't be there.

She sat down in one of the metal chairs and said something. The two men laughed and they conversed easily. The Israeli sun did well for Ziva, who was looking more beautiful than he had ever remembered her. He missed her and was awaiting her return. It was all staked on this meeting.

"Malachi," Ziva said across the table, "ani makeera oto. Hu mistakel aleniu." (Malachi, I know him. He is looking at us.)

Malachi nodded. "Lechi v'tekchi oto. Anachnu bgav shelach." (Go and take him. We have your back.)

Ziva nodded and pulled out her card. She sat down and looked at the man.

"I guess preliminaries are not needed," Ziva said, pushing her identification card across the table. "But procedures must be followed. Ziva David. Mossad. You are an American operative on Israeli soil and all federal agents who come here, even on vacation, must clear it with the Shabak. You, Agent Gibbs, did not do that. I am under an obligation to —"

"Ziva, I did nothing wrong! I called! I nearly fired Abby because of what happened." His voice became more pleading now. "Ziva, please. I loved you. I still love you. Please come home."

"I have a job, Gibbs, and I cannot leave it. This is my mission. I have something I need to do."

"What do you need to do? Let me help, Z, and then you can come home."

"You can't help. I have to do what I must do."

"Which is what?"

"What you did twenty years ago."

"I killed the killer of my wife and daughter, Ziva. I thought your sister was killed in a suicide bombing."

"I am searching for the killer of my husband and son."

"_Say hello to good-bye  
>It's gone forever<br>No more try, you and I  
>Not now, not ever<br>And I'll get by without you  
>I'm not going back again<br>I'm not going to lie to you  
>Cause, that was there and only then."<em>


	6. All's Fair in Love and War

**Title:** Illuminated

**Author:** IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title:** All's Fair in Love and War

**A/N:** Thanks for all the reviews, alerts, and favourites for the past five chapters. Much appreciated! Keep them coming!

_It's the moment of truth and the moment to lie  
>The moment to live and the moment to die<br>The moment to fight, the moment to fight, to fight, to fight, to fight_

_ -"This is War," 30 Seconds to Mars_

Gibbs stared at her in shock. "What?"

Ziva stood up. "I trust you to keep that information silent. I have to go back to work."

"Ziva, don't leave!"

She turned around. "Nice clothes, Gibbs."

He ran after her. "Ziver, come back. Tell me what happened!"

She looked at him. "I'll call you."

"How do…"

"I'm Mossad. And I got trained by the best."

Gibbs walked into the hotel's dining room to be greeted by a suited waiter who led him to a table. "When a woman named Lisa comes, please send her to me." The waiter nodded.

"Ein ba'ayah, achi."

Ziva slid into a chair across from Gibbs, looking beautiful as ever. She was wearing a simple champagne coloured top and a black skirt and a pair of black heels. "Did you get a new wardrobe?" she asked, looking down her cell, where she punched in several numbers.

"What makes you say that?" Gibbs asked, looking down at his suit.

"Your tie costs more than DiNozzo's suits."

"Always eagle eyed."

"That's my job, Gibbs. What happened?"

He laughed ruefully. "Wanted to impress you, I guess. Took DiNozzo along with me. How you've been?"

She looked incredulous. "I've been okay. I wanted to call you but I couldn't work up the courage. Did Abby mean what she said?"

Gibbs sighed. "No. She said it because she felt betrayed that we were together. She just had wanted to be in on it from the beginning. She also felt hurt that McGee knew."

"How is McGee?"

"Fine. His new book came out two weeks ago. Sent a copy for you."

"And Tony?"

"He's upset. He misses you. Ducky, too. But Abby misses you the most."

"What about you, Jeth?"

He smiled sadly. "I wanted to kill myself after you left. I had the gun to my head and I was going to pull the trigger… but I thought… I thought I might be able to get you back."

Ziva looked stunned. "I can't come back. I have a job to do."

"That's what I don't understand. Ziva, you were married?"

"Yes. And I had a son. They were killed in a bus bombing. The intended attack was for me and them, because we are relatives of Eli David. But I was not on that bus. And it was just them killed. I should have been there."

"Had you been there, Ziva, you would have been dead."

"I should have been there! I should be dead!"

"Don't say that, Ziva! Now, tell me, who are you trying to kill? Isn't the one—"

"Hamas has a unit that kills out relatives of family members that need to be eliminated. I was a threat, but not a big one. I did undercover work. I wasn't working in assassination yet. My father was the threat. At that point he was head of the Operations Department, which is the fast track for a directorship. Nearly every head of Operations becomes director. And Hamas knew that Eli would be a very strong director. He would be a big threat to the operations of Hamas. So they did their research and found my mother, Tali, Ari, me, my husband Eldan and my son Roi. Eldan was a double bonus for them; he was a commanding officer in an elite combat unit in the army. They killed Tali in a dual bus bombing. The second bus held Eldan and Roi. Eldan and Roi were coming from the North, Tali and my mother from a weekend in Eilat. The northbound bus blew up right as it crossed paths with the second bus. They were going to meet each other at the Central Bus Station, here, in Jerusalem. Ari, my father, and I were in Jerusalem. We were going to meet at a restaurant near here for Ari's birthday. Instead, I found out that my entire life was gone. Ari decided to hunt that unit down by disguising himself as a Hamas operative and then he himself got infected. I moved into assassination and became somewhat of a legend because I was so ruthless. And my father… well, he became cold and withdrawn and the director of Mossad.

"When Eldan and Roi died, I felt like my whole world had ended. I had a gun held to my head. I wanted to die so I could be with them."

Gibbs sighed. He remembered when that had happened to him. Twice in his life he stared into his gun: several days after Shannon and Kelly's funeral and the day after Ziva had left. He wondered if he would actually kill himself if Ziva left. "Ziva, I wanted… I wanted to kill myself after you left. I need you to come home."

"Israel is my home," Ziva stated, flagging down the waiter.

"Home is where the heart is, Ziva."

"The last time I checked, I still had my heart."

"I lost mine when you left."

Ziva ordered for them both in Hebrew and then looked at Gibbs. "Why didn't you come earlier?"

"I wanted to give you some time and I was worried about your father. Last time we were here it didn't go down too well."

"So what happened?"

"Your father called me. He said you seemed depressed and he thought I could help."  
>Ziva took a bite of her food. "I can't come back. I'm still tracking down that unit and I won't rest until I get it down."<p>

"Terrorists are like parasites. The more you knock them down the more they become."

Ziva sighed. "Doesn't mean we can't try."

Gibbs laughed, but then got serious. "Come home, Ziva."

"Did you give up when your wife and daughter were killed?"

"That was one man, Ziva, you are up against an entire terrorist organization with limitless resources and long international reach."

"And I am with Mossad, which is one of the most powerful intelligence services."

"Is there any point arguing with you?"

Ziva's phone rang. "Ken, ani yavo. Ani beyerushalyim achashav, ani yecholah lehyot shamah toch reva sha'ah."

Ziva got up. "There is no point in talking right now because I have to be back at the office. But tomorrow?" she smiled. "I'll pick you up from the hotel and we'll do some touring."

Gibbs got up and kissed her on the cheek. "Tomorrow."

As she walked out of the room, Gibbs sighed. "Ziver, I missed you so much."

_I do believe in the light  
>Raise your hands up to the sky<br>The fight is done  
>The war is won<br>Lift your hands  
>Towards the sun<em>


	7. Walking in Israel

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Walking in Israel

**A/N: **Chapter Seven is upppp! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! This is going to be slightly fluffy… Thanks for all the hits and alerts, but could I have some more reviews? (Please :D) Thanks ZC for a review on _every_ chapter. Much appreciated. I need more flúffy songs, so pm please.

"_I used to think maybe you loved me  
>Now baby I'm sure<br>And I just can't wait till the day  
>When you knock on my door"<em>

-Walking on Sunshine 

Gibbs rolled over in the bed to face the bright white sunlight that came streaming through the windows. He walked over to the porch and inhaled deeply as memories of the previous night came hitting him with full force. Ziva had been married. She had had a son. She had a vendetta to pursue and she was not going to rest until she found every single person who had caused her the pain she had silently carried in her chest for so many years. Gibbs was reminded of himself, twenty years younger.

_"It's my fault. I was away for too damn long, sir."_

_ "Trust me. None of this is your fault."_

_ "Leanne wanted to start a family, but I told her we couldn't afford it. Maybe when I made staff sergeant, you know. But I'd never thought that she'd…"_

_ "I know exactly how you feel."_

_ "How do you live with it, sir?"_

_ "Sergeant, you live with that question every day until you find the answer."_

_ "And what did you find, sir?"_

Gibbs hadn't answered. But now he realized that Ziva was his answer, and even though she had hidden that crucial information from him, she was still the (second) love of his life. It wasn't just a girlfriend. The information Ziva had given solidified the fact that they were meant to be, even if she was twenty years younger than him. They had the same pain, the same experiences, and they had dealt with it in the same way. He was determined to take her home, even stay in Israel if it meant that he could be with her.

Ziva appeared at his hotel door an hour. "Sorry I'm late," she said, adjusting her t-shirt. As he hugged her, he got hit by several metal objects. "I had to run to the office."

"What the hell do you have underneath there?" he demanded. Ziva looked unperturbed.

"At my waist? Extra bullets, my sig, two grenades, and a knife." A twinkle lit her eyes as she pulled out her cell phone. "And I have my backups, but I'm not telling you where."

"Are you expecting any trouble, love?" he asked, grabbing the cell phone Malachi had given him when he had landed in Israel.

"No, but it pays to be prepared. Today, ahuvi, we are going to a tourist attraction called Mini-Israel. It is a park of miniatures of the landmarks in Israel. It is absolutely adorable, down to the miniature pomegranate trees that are actually living. Anyway, the point is we can see a lot and then you can decide what you want to see and what you want to give a miss."

"There doesn't have to be a point to where we go, Ziva, I just want to spend time with you." He said, pulling her closer. She reached up and clasped her arms around his neck.

"But I want to show you where I grew up, what I'm fighting for. I want you to meet Israel from my point of view."

"I fell in love with Israel when I fell in love with you. It has to be good soil if it produced you," he husked, leaning in, and kissing her brainless. He knew that the idea was to pamper her, make her realize how much she had had been missing and then she would begging that she could home to the United States.

"Did you eat breakfast, Jethro?" she asked as she pulled away.

"Mm-hmm, but I could always eat again," he said with a smile.

"Not a chance!" she laughed, slapping him playfully on the chest. "You'll want to go where we're going."

"I want to go where you are." Ziva laughed again. God, how he missed that sound.

Ziva pulled on his hand as she led him out the door and into the hallway. "We'll have time for everything, Jethro, while you're here." His heart dropped slightly that she had put a timestamp on their relationship.

Mini-Israel is located in Latrun, in between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and was a key battle place in the 1948 Israeli Independence War. There are tanks and bullet casings all over the hills, put there as tribute to the fallen. "You know who Mickey Marcus was?" Ziva asked as she took a particularly steep turn.

"The guy from _Cast a Giant Shadow?" _Gibbs asked, and then smiled guiltily.

"Don't worry, I won't tell Tony," Ziva assured him. "Anyway, one of the battles occurred in these hills. They made these roads, actually." He sighed. She always knew what he was thinking. It was something that he had fallen in love with.

As they strode between the miniatures of each of the building, Ziva pointed to several things and listed the history behind it. Gibbs was astounded by how much she knew. He knew she had a photographic memory but this was simply outstanding.

"I used to walk around here when I was sad or frustrated," Ziva admitted as they looked at a miniature of the Bahai Gardens in Haifa. "Some people go to the beach, but I came here. It reenergized me. It made me remember what I was fighting for. I just watch everyone here and these little landmarks and it made me feel like I wasn't alone. It gave me hope." She dug her hands into her pockets, and he put his arm around her shoulders and placed a kiss on her cheek. She smiled slightly, and looped her arm around his waist. He fell in love with her all over again as they strolled around the park.

As they neared a model of the Knesset, the Israeli parliamentary building, Ziva sighed looking at the little soldiers taking their Hashbaah, their service pledge. He watched the little plastic figurines and the rising blue and white flags and looked over at Ziva, her lips tautly set in a firm line. He knew she was thinking about her own Hashbaah and her dead husband. He put her hands on the cool metal railing and leaned in. "Jethro," she asked, "are you okay with everything I told you last night?"

He gulped. He had no idea that she would have put on the spot like that. But then he realized, he was okay. If he wasn't okay with it he would be a hypocrite. And he pulled her into a hug and said:

"Ziver, I love you for it."


	8. Song in Israel

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Song in Israel

**A/N: **This one is for ZivaCentric, because of Haifa :D. 1,001 hits last time I checked on my last chapter… so where are the reviews? If you don't know the song, I seriously suggest that you check it up. Oh, and of course, for Clairebear.

"_For you, there'll be no more crying,  
>For you, the sun will be shining,<br>And I feel that when I'm with you,  
>It's alright, I know it's right"<em>

_-"Songbird," Fleetwood Mac  
><em>

Ziva settled into her bed in an apartment in Tel-Aviv, smiling as she pulled the duvet cover up to her chin. Today had been one of those perfect days that you saw in those sappy romantic comedies that she wouldn't admit, even if they took off her left trigger finger (she was able to shoot with both hands, of course). They had gone to Haifa in the morning because she knew that was something that he really wanted to do. They had gotten a special tour of the magnificent Bahai Gardens, which weren't typically open to the general public. "He owed me a favour," Ziva explained. "And I love Bahai because what they believe in."

Afterwards, Ziva and Gibbs journeyed to one of the army bases for an elite combat unit, called the Golani. Gibbs was impressed watching the teenagers fight like there was no tomorrow. "That move is called bursting – attacking with both hands at once, and using your legs. It is unique to krav maga."

"That's what you're trained in?" Gibbs asked, watching the soldiers loaded down with forty kilos of weaponry

"Yeah. I wanted to be a fighter pilot or in the Navy but when I went for my physicals, I was more suited for combat. They stuck me in all male unit as an experiment. We did some of the most dangerous things possible. I was a commando. I fought dirty. That's why I went into Mossad. I didn't want to be Mossad. I wanted to be a professional dancer and singer. But when I was in the army I realized where my place is."

"I always thought your father pushed you to join the Mossad."

"He didn't want me to join. He wanted me to be safe. He wanted me to be in Aman – that's the Intelligence Corps - pretty safe job according to him. But I wanted to fight. Did you know that Israel is the only country that has a draft for women?"

"I do now." Gibbs said, pulling her closer. He was so proud of his lover. She was so strong in more ways than one.

"Allo, Ziva!" A tall, lean, muscular man with a t-shirt and shorts walked over to them.

Ziva's eyes sparkled with merriment. "Moni!" she got up and hugged him. "Jethro, this is the man who taught me how to fight." Gibbs shook the man's hand.

"Nice to meet you," Moni said. "So, want to go fight? There's a guy over there, he's pretty promising. Not that I think you can't take him."

Ziva walked over to the guy who didn't seem perturbed that he was fighting a girl. Gibbs leaned back to watch. This was going to be good.

Punch, duck, kick, and the guy was on the floor, Ziva victorious.

"Haven't lost your touch, have you, Ziva?" Moni asked.

"Never," Ziva said with a smirk as she placed a leg on the guy's back.

"_To you, I'll give the world  
>to you, I'll never be cold<br>'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,  
>It's alright, I know it's right."<em>

As Ziva snuggled deeper into her comforter, she thought of something wonderful to do in Jerusalem, close to his hotel. She dialled the number.

"Ziver?" his voice sounded joyful that she had called him.

"I'll be there soon. I just thought you might want to see Jerusalem at night. It's absolutely breath-taking."

"Everything's breath-taking with you around," he murmured. A jolt went through him. It was the same feeling he realized the night before he asked Shannon to marry him. It was that feeling of certainty, like this couldn't end badly. In a certain way, his marriage to Shannon hadn't ended badly, because they were still in love when she died. Now, he felt like there was Ziva who was going to fill that void. No. He wasn't going to use Ziva as a stopper for his pain. He did that to his three ex-wives. Ziva was the end. He was going to transcend his pain and make it right. Ziva was his answer to the question the Sergeant had asked him so many years before.

He could feel Shannon behind him as he walked onto the balcony to survey the beautiful city, all lit up, the oldest mixed with the most modern. She seemed to be pushing him into the right direction.

"Its forty-five minutes to Jerusalem," Ziva had said.

"So you'll be here in twenty minutes," he laughed.

"Meet you in the lobby."

Gibbs went to meet Ziva in the hotel's lobby. She looked absolutely beautiful. It never failed to amaze him how every time he looked at her his breath was taken away. They had been trekking all over the north of Israel that morning and when anyone would have looked dead beat and tired, she looked positively radiant. Her skin was glowing, and there was a sparkle in her eyes. She was wearing a simple outfit, jeans and a black t-shirt and her hair tied up in a high ponytail. "Hey," she said quietly.

"So where do you want to go?" he asked.

She smiled coyly. "I'll show you."

They walked along the old streets of Jerusalem, Gibbs wondering when he should tell her. As they reached the Jaffa Gate, near where they had first re-joined each other in Israel, Ziva turned to Gibbs.

"Jethro, why are you here? You realize I'm not going to come back with you. So why are you trying so hard?"

"Why aren't you coming back? Oh… wait, Ziva, this is a whole plan to —"

"You're sounding like Abby. No, it's not a plan. I missed you. I love you. I want to be with you. But I've got a job, and I have to do it."

"You're beginning to sound like James Bond_."_

"And you're beginning to sound like Tony," Ziva retorted. "I need to do it. There's no future for me in the United States. Abby hates me, and probably the rest of the team does too."

"Abby misses you a lot, Ziver, and so does everyone else. McGee especially. He goes crazy without you. He starts talking to the air, wishing you were there. There is a future. You and me. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"We were together six months and you didn't say _anything_ about the future. Nothing. Not even about a date. Now, when you realize this is the end, you're grasping at the straws. It was a mistake for you to come here. You wasted your time. I can't believe that I wasted my time from tracking down the killer of _my family_ to spend time with someone who can't—"

"Commit? Really, Ziva? Do you know what my plan was when I would come back? I was planning on taking you to dinner that night and telling how much you mean to me. And then I was going to ask you to marry me. And every day after you left I dreamed that maybe you would knock on my door but you didn't come. You left me in the lurch, Ziva. I haven't felt this about another woman since Shannon. What am I supposed to do if you leave?"

Ziva was silent for a moment. And then she responded in the language that transcended all other languages. Music. Tears began running down her face.

"And the songbirds are singing,  
>Like they know the score,<br>And I love you, I love you, I love you,  
>Like never before."<p>

Gibbs looked at her, not believing what he was hearing. And then he realized there was the perfect part of the song to sing to her.

"And I wish you all the love in the world,  
>But most of all, I wish it from myself."<p>

And then their voices blended in perfect harmony in the cobblestone streets in Jerusalem.

"_And the songbirds keep singing,  
>Like they know the score,<br>And I love you, I love you, I love you,  
>Like never before, like never before."<em>

Paris wasn't the city of love. Jerusalem was.

_Remember to review! It tells me what you want and what I can do better!_


	9. Strong Memories, Strong Love

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Strong Memories, Strong Ties, Strong Love

**A/N:** Probably the last chapter in Israel. And I might be biased, but I can't paint Eli as an SOB as most people do. Sorry! Also, you'll get mentioned if you can figure out the artist to this song! There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter and I wrote it to give Ziva a life before NCIS and Mossad. By the way, thanks for all the reviews. By the way, trivia question from chapter one was won by **Ziver911**. The one in this chapter is about Candid Camera. When did Gibbs mention it?

"_You are still my strongest memory  
>whenever I close my eyes I see you clearly<br>Every time my heart just skips a beat  
>whenever you say my name I need you with me"<em>

_-Lily_

Ziva and Gibbs ducked into a restaurant on the Tel Aviv-Yaffo coast where the tables and chairs were so close to the waterline that the shore lapped at their shoes like an enthusiastic puppy. Their happiness was over them like an exploded glitter bomb, radiated sunshine on everyone they passed. Gibbs had actually smiled at several people and tried speaking Hebrew to several people but had failed miserably. Ziva wanted to video his happiness to show the office that it was possible.

A man in a neat shirt and slacks came over to Ziva and double kissed on her cheeks, as was the Israeli and European custom. She greeted him in rapid-fire Hebrew, which Gibbs did not even attempt to understand. They talked for several moments, and then Ziva paused. "Sorry," she said, a rueful smile on her face, "where are my manners? Jethro, this is Yoram Gafni, my former brother-in-law, Yoram, this is Jethro, my fiancé. This is Yoram's restaurant."

An unexplainable look fleeted over Yoram's face like a deer that was there one moment and then vanished the next. As a sniper, Gibbs didn't like targets disappearing on him. Yoram sighed for a second and put a hand on Ziva's shoulder. "To us, Ziva'leh, you will always be family."

Gibbs smiled at his words. Ziva had been a part of something larger; she had been part of a family. Later that night, when she and Gibbs had parted, Gibbs walked around the cobblestone streets of Jerusalem, strangely pensive. His happiness had given way to a new emotion – curiosity. He had decided he wanted to find out more about Ziva's deceased husband. In doing so, he would find out not only about how he captured her heart but he would find out the Ziva before the whole Ari debacle, before Mossad, before her withdrawn and silent personality had come to light. He seriously wanted to meet a warrior, inside and out, who had exemplified giving one's life up for their country.

"So, did Shireet find out what she is doing in the army yet? Last time I spoke to her, she was expecting to find out two days ago, and I called, but I left a message."

Gibbs gleaned several pieces of information from Ziva had just said, but the most important to him was that Ziva was still in touch with her former in-laws. There was caring in her. Ziva turned to Gibbs to explain. "Shireet is Yoram's daughter. One of Yoram's sons is studying to be a chemical engineer and the other one is having his bar mitzvah soon, next week."

A look of pride came over Yoram. "She is going to be a fighter pilot, just like me. I still am in reserves, Ziva, would you believe it? A clunky old man like me."

"I'm in the Marine Corps Reserves," Gibbs said, "and you're younger than I am."

Yoram looked interested as he pulled up a chair. "My favourite American movie was _A Few Good Men._ What did you do in the Marines?"

"I was a sniper."

"My brother, Matan, he was a sniper. A very good one, you must know."

Ziva laughed. "That's because there are six boys in the family. Yoram, Matan, David, Shai, Eyal, and Eldan. By the time you get through with them, you have the entire army covered."

"Eldan really made us proud, Ziva. Jethro, I must tell you, you are one very lucky man. Ziva was the only woman he had to fight for. Really. She could tell you stories about the things he did for, but she played so hard, it was so funny. We all said, 'nu, Eldan, give it up, she's just a girl.' But then we met Ziva. Speaking of meeting people, I was at a function and I ran into your father. He said Amit was dead. Unfortunately, I am not sad to hear it. I hated him every since he gave me my first black eye when I was six."

Ziva smiled again. "Mazal, Yoram's wife, is the personal secretary to the Prime Minister. She's basically the Prime Minister's best friend, the only one he can trust. He tows her along to every event."

"And then there is me, stuffing pitas with falafel and humus while she has so much fun kicking it with the big names," Yoram said ruefully. "Speaking of stuffing pitas, I must go, but it was a pleasure meeting you Jethro! Come by soon!" and with that, Yoram walked away, muttering something about being a "pita-pusher."

"How did you meet Eldan?" Gibbs asked.

"On a bus."

Gibbs looked at her quizzically. He knew that most Israelis used the bus service, Egged, but he couldn't imagine Ziva meeting her husband on a bus. After all, he had met her on a mission from Mossad.

"There was a chartered bus from a designated point in Haifa to go to Eilat. I was supposed to meet some friends there. I got to the bus stop a little late and the last spot available was next to another soldier on leave. Remember that I was in all male, elite combat unit. I had all my two rifles, a handful of grenades and a Sig on me. He looked at me up and down and thought that I was a joke on a TV show that was very popular then, you know they play pranks and then the video you-"

"Candid camera," Gibbs supplied, a smile playing at his lips.

"He wanted to know if I was a joke. I said no. He was supposed to sing at a hotel for the weekend – he was somewhat of an icon, you know the teenage singer who then goes to the army and makes it a career. He was considered a true hero. Anyway, he and I started talking and five hours later, we decided to see each other again."

"And you played hard to get."

"I don't _think_ I did. We were engaged pretty quickly, maybe after three months. It's hard having a relationship while both parties are in the army. We got married about two months later, and I joined Mossad as an ops manager. I got pregnant pretty quickly. It was the most wonderful time of my life. You know, he made a CD. It was a huge hit."

"I'd like to hear it," Gibbs said, finding it was true. "I met Shannon at a train station. I was this inarticulate marine who found himself faced this really beautiful, intelligent woman who asked me if I was a lumberjack. I got the idea of having rules from her. Anyway, we sat next to each other on the train and then we never looked back. She transformed me. I became a better Marine, a better person because of her."

Ziva nodded. There was no need to pretend that they had people they had loved in the past. Gibbs would never have to feel that he couldn't love Shannon because he loved Ziva. They feelings were not contradictory, rather, it added another dimension of his love of Ziva. There was no need for hiding behind a veil of "I don't need," or "I don't feel." They had finally found their answers.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

Gibbs was ensconced in one of those huge chairs that belonged to the first class section, Ziva perusing a Hebrew magazine next to him, the ring he had bought her initially sparkling of her ring. As he sipped his glass of water, he watched her. She was so beautiful when she read for pleasure. The worry was erased from her face. He put his arm around his shoulders, and drew her closer. She smiled up at him as she looked deeper into the magazine, which from what he could glean from the pictures, was about gardening.

"Planning on bringing my garden back to life?" he asked.

Ziva looked upset. "You let it die, Jeth?" She had spent a lot of time in the garden when she had lived at Gibbs's house, tending the plants and slowly reviving the dead vegetation and various floras.

He laughed. "I didn't tell the office that you're coming back."

"You told Vance."

"How do you know?"

"Vance is friends with my father, remember?" she reminded him as she turned the page. "I doubt, however, that Vance will tell the office."

"How do you want to tell them?"

Ziva smiled. "I have a couple of ideas."


	10. I'm Coming Home So You Can Lean On Me

**Title**: Illuminated

**Author:** IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title:** I'm Coming Home So You Can Lean On Me

**A/N:** Zivacentric, this is for you… (you know why). Thanks for all the reviews! Keep them coming! (Check up these songs, they're absolutely beautiful.)

"_Home  
>The world tried to break me<br>I found a road to take me  
>Home<br>There ain't nothing but a blue sky now  
>After all of my running<br>I'm finally coming  
>Home"<em>

"_Coming Home," Gwyenth Paltrow_

Ziva stood in the lift, twisting her ring anxiously. This was her first time in six months being back in the NCIS building. She was nervous. She had no idea what the team would say. After all, she had made a scene and run out on them. Gibbs had said there was nobody that had taken her desk, and while she believed him, she wondered if they wanted anyone to take her desk.

When she had come back from Somalia, she had not felt like this. After all, they had come and rescued her. She had been nervous, because of Tony. But everything had sorted itself out. But now this was a whole different ballgame.

Who said they would accept her back? Why would they want her after she had left? Abby had said that she had wished Ari had shot her, Ziva, and not Kate. Maybe they really were good actors and were still suspicious that she was a spy for Mossad. After all, she had returned to Mossad when she went back to Israel. Gibbs had spent practically the entire plane ride and the better part of dinner and the night reassuring her that they wanted her back, that they had missed her, that Abby would not kill her. Yet the fears lingered, clinging to her brain. They were like puddles after a particularly fierce rainstorm, refusing to leave until a harsh bout of sunlight forced them to start packing.

When she walked into the office, they initially didn't notice her. She had forgotten about the skylight that shone directly on her desk. She noted that nothing had ever changed. Her Sig and badge were sitting on the exact space she had left it. Tony was sitting with his feet up, sipping his vanilla soy latte (she smiled that she remembered his coffee order) and talking into the phone. McGee was buried in his computer, muttering something about how the random access memory was destroying his CPU. Ziva was sorely tempted as she eyed Tony to do what she had done six years ago.

"Having phone sex?"

He would have known that voice from anywhere, and especially that comment. "I'll call you back."

The atmosphere in the office was frozen. McGee looked up, shock on his face. There Ziva stood, a slight smile on her face, looking down at Tony.

He stared back at her.

Unbeknownst to all of them, Gibbs entered and watched the scene unfold. No one was saying anything. McGee and Tony were staring at Ziva as if she was an apparition, something that had just popped out in their midst with no clear entrance point. Tony gazed at her for a long time and then began to speak.

"So that's how it's going to be, is it, Ziva?" he asked, his face and tone unreadable. "You're back?"

"I was stupid for leaving."

Tony raised his eyebrows. McGee cleared his throat and crossed over to Ziva. "But you're smart for coming back," he said, and enveloped her in a hug. "I missed you," he murmured, and Ziva nodded, showing that she felt the same way during their six month separation.

"And you think it's okay?" Tony asked, standing up. "Gibbs was all sorts of cut up when you left."

"Maybe that's why I came back?" Ziva suggested quietly.

"You're lucky, cause I would have crossed the world to bring your Mossad ninja ass back here if it made Gibbs happy." Then the angry look on Tony's face disappeared and he hugged Ziva. "C'mon, show the love."

Gibbs chuckled as he watched the two hugging. They broke part quickly and Ziva went to her desk, putting her ID and Sig in the drawer. Her computer password had not changed, and the security program McGee had installed was still there. Nothing had changed.

"_Sometimes in our lives__  
><em>_We all have pain__  
><em>_We all have sorrow__  
><em>_But if we are wise__  
><em>_We know that there's always tomorrow__  
><em>_Lean on me!__  
><em>_when you're not strong__  
><em>_and I'll be your friend__  
><em>_I'll help you carry on__  
><em>_for it won't be long__  
><em>_'till I'm gonna need__  
><em>_somebody to lean on"_

_ -Lean on Me_

Abby stared at the picture that she and Ziva had taken in the year after she had returned from Somalia. She regretted what she had said that horrible evening. Every minute that Abby wasn't working it sat on her conscience. She should have been a good friend, a friend who extended her hand to her friends and gave them her support. She should have been there like when she always used to.

Ziva stood in the doorway, watching her favourite Goth rub her temples with her fingers as she stared down at the picture.

"Abby?" she asked quietly.

Abby turned around, looking at the doorway. She looked at Ziva and her face went white. "Ziva?"

She stared at her for a very long time and then ran to her and enveloped her in a huge bear hug, tears streaming down her face.

"Ziva, Ziva," she sobbed.

"Shh, Shh," Ziva comforted her.

"I'm so sorry," Abby moaned into Ziva's shoulder, and Ziva stood there, rocking her friend back and forth.

"_So just call (call) on me brother (hey)__  
><em>_when you need a hand (When you need a hand)__  
><em>_we all need (need) somebody to lean on!__  
><em>_(I just might have a problem)__  
><em>_I just might have a problem that you'll understand__  
><em>_we all need somebody to lean on!"_


	11. Bridges Over Waterloo

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Bridges Over Waterloo

**A/N: **Wow, wow, wow! Thanks for all the positive feedback, especially to Clairebear, ZC, and fart fart. There's another couple of stories up, called "Trying Again," "Go Your Own Way," and "Maybe This Time," and (possibly) another two in the works. Yes, I _am _ambitious.

"_I'm on your side  
>When times get rough<br>And friends just can't be found  
>Like a bridge over troubled water<br>I will lay me down."_

_-_"Bridge Over Troubled Water"

"So, Tony, have you met 'the one' yet?" Ziva teased as she typed an e-mail. "I was away for six months, surely you met someone."

"He met twenty-seven 'someones'," McGee chimed in as he sorted through some paperwork.

"Hey, Probie! Stop going through my e-mail!" Tony exclaimed.

"While I don't do any federal offenses-"

"Just being you is a federal offense," Tony muttered.

"The only federal offense that's going down is that there's a murdered petty officer in Norfolk. Gear up!" Gibbs said, tossing his coffee cup into his garbage. "And Ziva, Vance wants you to stay here."

"Am I not cleared for field work?" she asked, already in mid-action for gearing up.

"He needs your language skills today."

Ziva looked unhappy, but she seemed to withdraw. "Okay," she muttered as she slid her gun back into her drawer, and walked towards the steps. "Tony… behave yourself!" she warned him as she stood on the landing.

Tony nodded and waved, effectively tripping over Gibbs's feet. Gibbs shook his head. "When will you ever learn?" he asked, sighing.

When Gibbs came home later that night, he found Ziva sitting on the couch, staring at a picture frame, a pensive look on her face. "Hey honey," he said, giving her a short kiss, and he sat down on the couch and pulled off his shoes. "What's that?"

"A picture that Jen gave me years ago, when we first met."

"Didn't you save her life in Cairo?" he asked, taking the picture frame from her and looking at it. It was a much younger Jenny, happier than he had ever seen her, posing with Ziva who wore a smile on her face. He recognized that smile. It was one of the first full blown smiles that Gibbs had given when he had emerged from his depression. It felt odd that he was smiling – those muscles had weakened from disuse. He had felt like a traitor, but he had also felt relieved that no lightening struck him down for being happy again. They seemed to be in Haifa, and it was a beautiful day. He could see the USS Carl Vinson behind them in all of its glory. On the bottom, in silver marker, he could see the words Jenny had written, in French. He remembered how the two would switch to French when they just wanted to talk. He sighed. Jenny and Ziva had been what Kate and Abby had been. His heart ached for his two angels.

"Pour vous, toute ma vie, de la lune et retour," she whispered as she ran her finger over the words, "For you, all my life, from the moon and back. God, sometimes I miss her so much."

"I do, too." He said, putting his arm around her shoulders. "What made you think of her today?"

"Working so closely with Vance. It bothers me that a man I know growing up is the director of NCIS. I don't know why. It also bothered me about Jen, but Jen was a friend of mine. Vance is my father's friend. Jen and Vance had such different styles. Good, but different."

"You approve of Vance?" Gibbs asked, his eyebrows shooting up.

"I understand your little feud started when he destroyed your cheese Danish. I thought you were a bigger man than that," she said, smiling wickedly.

"Rule fifty-two."

"I don't recall it," Ziva said, slightly confused. Gibbs smiled. She looked adorable when she was confused or was about to mess up an idiom.

"Never mess with my woman or pastries!" he said, and they broke out laughing.

"Sort of anti-climatic, don't you think? Women and pastries?"

"Really, my cheesecake?" he asked.

"My cheesecake?" Ziva spluttered incredulously. "That's worse than Tony's snugglemuffin."

"He called you snugglemuffin?" Gibbs asked.

"No, he called three women that yesterday. Three! He's worse than Charlie Harper."

"Charlie Harper?" now was Gibbs's turn to be confused.

"You know, _Two and a Half Men_, Charlie Sheen."

"You watch that?" Gibbs asked.

"In Israel its called shtayim v'chezi gevarim. Its big in Israel."

"Well, I'm big on the idea of getting dinner. Chinese okay?"

"Chinese is perfect." Ziva said, and he went to the phone to order. She smiled. Maybe there was nothing normal, but everything was perfect.

"_Waterloo,_

_I was defeated, you won the war_

_Waterloo_

_Promise to love you forever more._

_Waterloo_

_Couldn't escape if I wanted to_

_Waterloo_

_Knowing my fate is to be with you_

_Waterloo_

_Finally Facing My Waterloo."_

_-Waterloo, ABBA_

Don't forget to review!


	12. Crawling to You

**Title: **Illuminated

**Author: **IronIsraeliButterfly

**Chapter Title: **Crawling to You

**A/N: **The last chapter! I saved this song for last because when I heard it, I thought Gibbs and Ziva. Thanks for all the reviews!

"_How long will this take?__  
><em>_How much can I go through?__  
><em>_My heart, my soul aches__  
><em>_I don't know what to do__  
><em>_I bend, but don't break__  
><em>_And somehow I'll get through__  
><em>_Cause I have you."_

_-"Crawl/Carry Me Through," Superchick_

_Eighteen months later…_

Tony and Abby walked through the hallway of Bethesda. It was a wondrous feeling to walk to a room where they knew a team member was lying there, but not shot. It was a beautiful occasion. Abby and Tony had finally admitted that they were together to the team about six months ago. "I can't believe it!" Abby was practically squealing. "I'm an aunt, again! And you're an uncle, Tony!"

He put his arm around her waist and brought her closer. "I can't believe it, either. Gibbs and Ziva?"

"They're the most perfect couple, Tony," she admonished him. "I thought you got over the weirdness years ago."

"Some things never cease to amaze me, Abbs. Just like how you're with me." Abby nodded.

"Or how I got such a stud like you," she said, as they rounded the corner.

"_And if I had to crawl__  
><em>_Well You'd crawl too__  
><em>_I stumble and I fall__  
><em>_Carry me through__  
><em>_The wonder of it all__  
><em>_Is You see me through"_

Jimmy and Breena were sitting next to the hospital door. Breena was getting big, herself, and her hand settled on her stomach as she chatted quietly with Jimmy. Pregnancy suited Breena – she was positively glowing. She waved as she saw the approaching couple, and Jimmy smiled, and showed them to seats.

"Eli's in there right now," Ducky said, motioning to the two suits who were guarding the door. "We can't go in right now. You missed the Director. He came with his wife and kids."

"Jackie and Ziva are very close," McGee said, coming to the team, holding the hand of his wife of two months, a close personal friend of Ziva's from Israel who was now a florist in Georgetown. She was exactly McGee's type – simple, unassuming, intelligent, diligent, and loyal. It had been a quick courtship – they had just jumped into it.

"Have any of you seen the baby?" Lihi, McGee's wife, asked, a huge smile across her face.

"I went up to the nursery earlier," Ducky said. "What a beautiful child. Looks exactly like Ziva."

"Hope it has Gibbs's eyes," Abby said.

Just then Eli walked out and his eyes lit up at the sight of the team sitting on the cold plastic chairs. "You can all go in now," he said to them. "And thank you for being such good friends to my daughter."

In a burst of emotion, Abby hugged Eli. "Mazal tov, Saba," she said.

A grin broke out across his face. "Saba. I never thought anyone would call me that."Abby broke away and entered the hospital room.

"_When everything I was is lost__  
><em>_I had forgot, but you have not__  
><em>_When I am lost, you have not lost me__  
><em>_When everything I was is lost__  
><em>_I had forgot, but you have not__  
><em>_When I am lost, you have not lost me__  
><em>_You have not lost me"_

Gibbs looked at Ziva, who was exhausted. "It's been a long day, honey. Maybe you want to sleep."

"I'm so happy, Jethro, I don't know what to do. What should we name him?"

"Something Jewish. Something Israeli."

"Why?"

"Because a language that produces you must be a perfect language."

Ziva smiled. "You always say the perfect thing."

"I have the perfect person to say it to."

"What about Eden?" she asked.

"Like the garden?"

Ziva nodded.

He nodded.

"We're parents," she said, almost breathless.

He raised his eyes towards heaven, and remembered his silent plea to Shannon years before as he was working on his boat and was blanking on a name. As he watched Ziva drift off to sleep, he whispered, "_Thank you Shannon._"

All was perfect. And it was going to last.

"_And if I had to crawl__  
><em>_Well You'd crawl too__  
><em>_I stumble and I fall__  
><em>_Carry me through__  
><em>_The wonder of it all__  
><em>_Is You see me through"_

_Fin._


End file.
